The Tempting of Caldera Height
Caldera Height is a dormant volcano, located in the mountains north of Azuran. This peak had long sat inactive, holding its fiery contents from the fertile land around its base. However, that was almost changed in 601 A.F. The Fenmarel Mestarine, Druid Supreme, sought to wash civilization from the Common Lands in a flood of fire and ash. However, the Druid Circle of the Moon convened to stop his plot and seek out what fell influence drove the priest. His actions had long left the neutral leanings of the Druid Clans, he was driven with a hateful rage towards all ordered society. Whatever deity worked through him had won the allegiance of a Red Dragon. Despite the druids brought before him, he repelled the order and scattered them to their lands. Among them was the Wood Elf Lunar Paw. He had left his group of friends to convene on this meeting. He limped back to his group of compatriots, a small group of heroes most known for scourging the Servants of the Night from Potno. Guided by the godly essence that powered him, he led his army of followers and elementals from his fortress in the Fellbog and onto the fort of Vesper Pass, the one route a force may come to stop his plot. Leaving behind a garrison of troops, he traveled with a smaller contingent of followers to Caldera Height where he began a multi-day ritual to awaken the volcano. Meanwhile, Lunar Paw had reached his compatriots in Azuran, where they had been sheltering for a few weeks. He told them of this new threat and they readily agreed to face the problem themselves. After looking over the paths to it, they decided they could risk the tunnels within the mountain rather than the roads through Vesper Pass. They had no army they could use to break through. So they journeyed through the desert, all the while Fenmarel was bringing the ritual closer to completion. He called upon Steam and Magma Mephits to torment the volcano's heart and urge it along. It took the company of heroes 3 days to reach the tunnel entrance. The roads within the mountain were treacherous and uneven. Vast 40 ft. drops and staggering climbs made navigation difficult. While scouting ahead, Lunar Paw almost fell into a crevice far away from the rest of the party. Before climbing up, he found himself made captive to a clan of nearby Goblins. Led by a Goblin warlord named Chuk-Nuk, they were ready to cut him to pieces for dinner. After explaining why he was there, he promised the Goblins rights to the dragon's scales and organs if they cooperated with his friends. The unlikely allies had to clear out a vicious Cloaker that guarded the exit to the tunnels. Nearly devastating the heroes, they won by the skin of their teeth. They reached the volcano's mount with mere minutes before the ritual was completed. A tough battle followed, with the Lunar Paw and Fenmarel battling with their Drudic powers to control the mountaintop and influence the activity of the volcano. Lunar Paw's allies battled the dragon and cut down the Mephits that guarded the mountaintop. In the end, the ritual was disrupted and the process undone. The dragon was slain, heroes victorious, and Fenmarel escaped. However, they learned that Fenmarel was being championed not by a nature god from before the Fall, but a much older deity. A Proto-deity of flame and hunger named Vernus was using Fenmarel to advance the god's own agenda.